In Wonderland
by Evil-Queen-Charlotte
Summary: Alysse has two jobs, both at night, so sleep is a rare commodity for her. Often with her head in the clouds she doesn't realize that the chance encounters she has with certain night characters could possibly change her life. Alysse has entered their Wonderland and the only way she can describe it is: curiouser and curiouser...or just plain confusion.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Nighttime at the Boardwalk was always a fun time. All the people walking about and the loud music, which all happened during the day but if you add the lights –oh the lights- it just makes everything all the more spectacular. Too bad Alysse was always working all night long that she very rarely had time to soak it all in and enjoy the wonder, but that never stopped her from trying every now and again.

"Alysse, would you please pay attention. You'll burn the funnel cakes!" came the cry of Loren, her older sister.

"All my attention is paid to the funnel cakes, don't you worry," she said taking her eyes off of the lights of the Giant Dipper, just across the way, and flipping the cakes over in the hot oil.

"I swear, I don't know how you work two jobs, when you are day dreaming all the time."

"She works two jobs, all at night, and has school during day, which means she doesn't sleep, so when else is she suppose to dream?" asked Maggie, a fellow worker who was passing through with more powdered sugar.

"Here, here!" exclaimed Alysse as she plated the funnel cakes and set a blizzard of powdered sugar atop them.

"Would you take over cashier, Alysee? It is time for my break," said Loren. Alysse nodded and carried the cakes to the front window and handed them to the awaiting customer who took them gleefully and with a hurried 'thanks' walked away.

"Hello," she greeted the next customer. She quickly took in his appearance so she could remember what he ordered and knew immediately that he was into the rock genre of music. His hair was blonde and swept back, and long, and fluffy, and just so 80's. Sadly, around the Boardwalk, well in Santa Carla in general, hair styles weren't all that reliable to recognize people by so she quickly took in his appearance of black mesh shirt, black tuxedo jacket complete with tails, an earring, and baseball pants.

"Hello!" he greeted very energetically.

"What can I get for you this warm evening?" she asked with a smile, it wasn't a scary smile, just a simple one that could be classified as her 'customer service' smile. She loved her jobs, here on the Boardwalk at the funnel cakes and down the way at a bakery, but talking to people wasn't really her forte since she did day dream a lot. Let's just say, it wasn't uncommon for her to tune out of conversations.

"Just a regular old funnel cake please…eh, why not, I'll have _the experience_, after all, it is a 'warm night', " he said doing air quotes with a smirk on his face.

"All right," she said putting in the order with Maggie and the punching it into the register, "that will be five dollars please." He handed her the bill and she added it to the tray.

"I have a question," he said suddenly, usually they wait to the side at this point.

"I might have an answer," she said giving him her attention.

"Why is it called _the experience_ instead of just _a la mode_ like everywhere else? Isn't that what it means when it comes with ice cream?"

"Technically, _a la mode_ means 'in the fashion' in French, how the ice cream started I don't know, but yes that is true. As for our version, have you seen Santa Carla, we're kind of special here," she said with a shrug.

"Wow," he said with a chuckle, "you're like an encyclopedia."

"I don't have that much useless knowledge do I?" she asked as his ordered was handed to her.

"Perhaps," he said still with a smirk.

"Well then, here you go, enjoy, unless there is something else you'd like to ask," she said handing him the plate along with some napkins and a plastic fork.

"Can't think of any right now, but I know where to find you if I do. Thanks," he said taking the treat from her and giving her a wink before walking away into the throng of people, and already she lost him in the crowd, because honestly, that many people had his hair style.

Now she does often make fun of the 80's look, but that didn't mean she looked completely different from everyone else. She had long light brown hair, and it was wavy but she didn't make it poofy or anything, that just got in the way, instead she just kept it tied back with a black scarf. As for wardrobe choice, she kept it simple: chef pants in a black and white checkered print, and some light blue shirt- light blue was kind of her colour- and typically an apron went over that. Right now it was a white one with red trim that had the Boardwalk logo on the front, and when she worked at the bakery she just had a plain white one on. She just knew years from now people would look back at this generation and make fun of their 'fashion sense' or lack of one.

"Alysse!" shouted Loren once more, waking her sister from her dreamland, this time filled with hairspray and shoulder pads, "customers!"

"Hi, what can I get you?" asked Alysse breaking out of her own thoughts once more and get back to her job.

…

Loud music could be heard in every little crack and crevice of the Boardwalk and that could only mean one thing: it was Friday night. During the summer, in other words, during the Boardwalk's operating time period, every Friday night meant free concert night. Tonight's guest was some…rock band. Alysse liked music and listening to it but she very rarely paid attention to who the artist was.

The sun had just gone down about half an hour ago and she was on her way to work. She had a slight skip in her step because this day had been her last day of school and now she was out for summer, which meant time to focus all her energy on work! She didn't work two jobs just to support her and her family, it helped but they were well off. She lived with her sister, their parents were away on business, but they were financially supported. Alysse had always wanted to work at a bakery but the one she wanted to work at was a very high demand one so it took her a while to get a job there. When they were first able to work, both sisters got a job at the funnel cake shop but when Alysse finally got the bakery job, she decided to just work two jobs.

While walking down the boardwalk reflecting on her life up to this point, she almost ran over someone half her height. She stopped herself in time and looked down at the boy who was looking around him as if lost.

"Are you lost?" she asked, kneeling down to his level.

"Yes," he said still looking around him. He rubbed his eyes, almost as if he had just woken up from a nap.

"Let me help. I work here over at the funnel cake place so you can trust me okay, see my apron?" she asked showing him her 'uniform' to reassure him. He glanced at it and nodded. "Now what does your guardian look like?" she asked.

He didn't immediately respond, still looking around in a slight frantic way.

"Don't worry, we'll find him or her, okay?" she tried to comfort him as best she could. She had a basic understanding of how to deal with lost kids since it has happened a few times before while she was working, but there was usually someone there to help her, now she was all on her own and it was beginning to make her nervous.

"Laddie?" came a shout and the boy's attention immediately jumped to look where the voice came from. Alysee inwardly cursed herself for not getting the boy's name first nor introducing herself.

"Star?" he shouted out.

"Laddie!" came the reply and a young women a similar age to Alysee with big, bushy brown hair in a beaded skit and a white top rushed over and scooped the boy into her arms.

"Star!" he cried hugging her.

"You know not to wander off. If we lost you, you know I wouldn't be happy about that, nor David," she said looking him in the eye while she lectured. He just nodded, with a slightly bored expression like he heard this all before.

"Well since you are now a found boy instead of a lost one, I shall get to work. Bye," said Alysse standing up and stretching a bit. Star stood up as well with a hold of Laddie's hand.

"Oh, thank you for looking out for him," she said gently holding her free hand out.

"No problem," responded Alysse who shook her hand and nodded to Laddie before heading off to work. She took a quick glance at her watch and seconds to get there on time.

She rushed into the back of the funnel cake shop and clocked in while tying her hair back before starting up the fryer.

"Almost late there, weren't you?" asked Maggie as she mixed the funnel cake batter.

"The important thing was that I wasn't. Plus I found a lost boy."

…

"Girl don't you ever take a day off?" asked Markus, a fellow baker who was in charge to actually baking the breads every morning.

"Yes, I have one on Thursday," she responded as she switch her Boardwalk apron for her plain white one.

"I don't know how you do it," said Emily who handed Alysse her checklist.

"Sometimes, neither do I," she said pulling some gloves on before grabbing a sheet tray and heading into the walk in freezer. She worked quickly on pulling out all the small cakes she needed to decorate before heading out into the warmth of the kitchen.

"Hey did you check the display case?" she asked Emily once she placed the cakes at her station.

"Nope, I thought you liked to do that," she said looking at her blankly.

"That I do, just testing you," she said smiling at her friend before heading to the front of the bakery and checking off what cakes were already in the display and good to go for another day.

She was checking the amount of cupcakes when she heard a tap on the door. Placing her checklist on a nearby counter she walked over to the main door and looked outside through the window and saw no one there.

"Odd," she said, before heading back to the task at hand.

Usually at the bakery she decorated cakes and cupcakes. Occasionally she helped bake things when they were short people, but she liked decorating. When she first hired on that was all she did but soon the job kind of changed to her making all the buttercreams and ganaches that she rarely had time to actually decorate anything. Then she got her hours worked out and from 4:30 till 8 she only decorated display cakes before getting to work on making spreads and fillings for the rest of her shift.

Everything pretty much had a set design for how they were suppose to be decorated except the cupcakes, those they were allowed to use their creativity and any leftover coloured buttercream in the fridge that they didn't want to waste. That morning she already took a peek and saw that they had leftover ivory buttercream and a light blue from a wedding cake order yesterday. She was in the middle of creating a design for the cupcakes in her head when she heard the tap again.

Marching over to the door, she looked out once more and didn't see anyone, once again. She sighed and turned around to go back to work when the tap came one final time. She threw the door open and there stood a young man around her age, maybe slightly older, who had curly hair that was loosely tied back wearing probably the most fantastic jacket she had seen in a long time. It was black jean jacket but it had a lot of things stitched onto it from faux leopard fur to logos.

"Have you been the one tapping all night long?" she asked.

"Not all night, only the past couple of minutes," he said taking a step closer.

"Well I am sorry but we are closed right now," she said looking at her watch to see what time it was. They didn't open for another two hours.

"I know," he said linking his thumbs sticking out of his fingerless gloves, into the pockets of his pants and taking a casual stance, "I was told to come pick up a special order at this time. We had it cleared with the owner when we ordered."

Alysse hesitated, this was very unusual and she never handled customers while at the bakery so she didn't really know what to do.

"Can you wait here while I go check?" He nodded. "I'll be right back." She closed the door and quickly went to the check the special order fridge to find the cakes dated for pick up today. She found a small on that had a pink note attached to it, the only one with a note on it, and written write there did it say that it was to be picked up at 5 AM.

"Hey Markus," she said walking back into the kitchen holding the box with the cake inside.

"Yes?" he asked closing the oven door and walking over.

"Did you know about this?" she asked letting him see the note.

"Oh, yes, lost track of time, sorry. Is the pick up here?" he asked. She nodded. "Well let's go take care of it, can you bring the cake." She followed him into the front and he went to turn the register on while she walked over to the door.

"Everything is okay, so go ahead and come on in," she said. He nodded and followed her into the bakery and he walked over to the register while she returned to her checklist.

"Does everything look right?" asked Markus as he opened the box's lid to show the cake.

"Looks great, except we decided that we did want writing on it, would that be too much trouble?" he asked while bringing a thumb up to his lips as if he were biting the nail.

"No problem at all. Alysse," said Markus getting the girl's attention.

"Yes?" she asked after writing a number down and looking over at the two.

"Can you go and get the writing chocolate?" She nodded and headed to the back and put her checklist at her station before grabbing the piping bag with the chocolate in it by the oven and returned to the front.

"What did you want written on it?" she asked taking the cake out of the box and turning it towards her on the front counter.

"If it will fit, 'Happy Birthday Laddie'," he answered.

"No problem at all," she said already piping out the 'h'. She was a pro and making 'Happy Birthday whoever' fit on any size cake, even cupcakes. Everyone was silent as they watched her pipe and when she finished she placed the piping bag down and turned the cake for the customer to see.

"Nicely done," he said giving a slight applause and smiling at her. She smiled back with a slight shrug while she put it back in the box and taped the lid closed while Markus rang him up and the exchange of money was done.

"Have a great day," said Markus as he handed him a receipt. Alysse handed over the cake and got another smile, well technically this one would be called a grin, in response.

"Thank you," he said nodding to Markus, "and thank you Alysse." He left the bakery quickly and Alysse closed the door and locked it as they heard a motorcycle leave the area.

"That was strange," she said walking with Markus back to the kitchen.

"Eh, I'm use to it by now," he said with a shrug before pulling oven mitts on and opening the oven.

"This is Santa Carla after all," said Emily walking by with a tray of large cakes for the display case.

"Very true," nodded Alysse before heading back to her job.

…

"All I am saying is that you should just quit working at the funnel cake place and free up your nights a bit. With mum and dad sending us money we are more than capable to afford everything," said Loren as they left work that night; she on her way home and Alysse on her way to the bakery.

"But I like working at the funnel cake place with you and Maggie. It is sort of a nostalgia thing," she said with a shrug which also helped her put on her jacket. It was a cool night, but that wasn't an uncommon thing so close to the Pacific Ocean, and the ocean breeze came in and it was most felt at night.

"Well don't work yourself crazy- I know, I know you have done it for quite some time now but with your school changes and all, please focus on your studies okay?"

"Yes big sister," said Alysse which earned her a light shove.

"Now I get to go home and take a nice bubble bath and you get to go slave over a hot oven!"

"I hardly do oven work, now that freezing freezer though, that is my specialty."

The sisters shared a laugh when Alysse felt a tap on her shoulder and stopped her laughter as she turned to face the tapping culprit. It was a young man with platinum blonde hair in a short mullet and a sweeping black leather coat.

"I believe this is yours," he said holding one of his gloved hands up and Alysse took a good look at the object in his hand and realized it was her watch.

"Oh, thank you so much," she sad taking it from him and securing it on her wrist.

"Don't want to loose that, now would you. You might be late for something," he said bringing his hand down to his side.

"Yeah, that would be bad," she said with a chuckle before glancing at her watch again, "and if I don't get a move on, I shall be late for something. Thank you for returning it."

He smirked and nodded before turning on the spot and walking away from them.

"And I shall see you tonight," she said turning to her sister and hugging her.

"Don't you mean tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah, then. Night," shouted Alysse before running off to work.

…

"_So glad we've almost made it,_

_so sad they had to fade it._

_Everybody wants to rule the world!"_ sang Alysse as she mixed some pastry cream. It was the hour she had at the bakery after doing funnel cake work and before anyone else came in. She would just make any fillings and stuff that they needed and usually blasted the radio and sang along. She wasn't a bad singer she just wouldn't ever do it in front of anyone. So you can imagine her surprise as what happened when she came to the end of Tears for Fear's 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World.'

"_All for freedom and for pleasure._

_Nothing ever lasts forever._

_Everybody wants to rule the world._"

A one person applause came form the back door. Alysse, holding a whisk up, turned to the door expecting Markus to be there when she saw someone she had never met. He had long dark hair and was wearing a dark jacket and, she couldn't help but notice, no shirt.

"Er," she was kind of at a loss for words, "we're closed." It was the best she could come up with.

"I know. I was just walking by when I heard someone singing. Couldn't help but find out who," he said leaning against the doorframe casually.

"Yes, well, I'm terribly sorry but my concert has just ended and I need to get back to work," she said putting the whisk down and checking on her mixture before looking back at him.

"Of course," he said standing up fully, "hopefully I will hear your voice again soon."

"Or not," she said shyly and uncomfortably. He smirked at her before turning and walking out the back door. The door slammed behind him and that caused a nearby tower of bowls to crash to the floor.

"Last time I leave the door open, even if it a hot night," she muttered to herself before stooping down and picking up the metal bowls.

…

"And so, I would like for all the workers of the Boardwalk to remain calm at all times. This meeting was just to make sure everyone was aware of these disappearances, and should anyone ask, just let them know that the police are working on it. That is all." The guy in a suit stepped down and everyone at the meeting began to file out of the area.

Every once in a while there would be a meeting for the Boardwalk workers and it was always about the same thing: missing people. It has come to a point where people aren't worried and just tired of hearing about it. It was common to them now, but I'm sure they keep having these meetings to reassure the people who lost loved ones.

"And on that depressing note," said Loren as she walked with Maggie and Alysse down the Boardwalk.

"I know right," said Maggie.

"It get's more depressing," said a voice from their right and they turned to see one of the Frog brothers who ran the comic book store.

"Oh boy, you," said Loren rolling her eyes.

"Hey, we are just here to make sure people are safe from what is out there," came a voice to the left and there was the other one.

"And as evident by these meetings it seems that you are doing a fantastic job!" said Alysse sarcastically.

"Not our fault people don't believe us," said Edgar, the one to their right.

"Actually it could be your fault. It is all about how you sell your product," said Maggie.

"Very true," nodded Alysse. Loren then bumped their shoulders.

"Don't encourage them," she hushed.

"Well if you ever want to find out the truth for yourself, you know where to find us," said the one of their left, Alan, before both brothers headed off to their store.

"Aren't they just a big ball of fun?" asked Alysse.

"Big ball of crazy is more like it," said Loren.

"That too," said Maggie and they headed off to the funnel cake stand.

…

**A/n:** Hello and thank you for reading. I have most of this written except for the last chapter so chapters will be posted quite quickly. This may or may not result in a sequel I have not decided yet.

Thank you,

Charlotte


	2. Down, Down, Down

Chapter One- 'Down, Down, Down'

Finally, a day off- well technically it would be a night off, either way Alysse didn't have to work which meant a lot of time with herself, some long awaited sleep, and then the beach.

After getting home from the bakery at eight in the morning, she immediately changed into her pyjamas and fell asleep till two in the afternoon. Relaxed and happy, she got up and made her a lunch and watched some reruns on their tiny television. Then she couldn't resist the temptation the outside world was calling to her and she changed into her bathing suit, grabbed a towel, a good book, and a lot of sunscreen before venturing down to the beach.

Now when selecting where to settle on the beach one has to consider many things. There was one area that was a high tourist area with a small pier, good restaurants and shops, and some beach volleyball nets set up. Avoid that area, for that also means far too many kids. Then there is the surfer area, where groups of surfers gather and hog the waves and often get in fights with other people and fellow surfers. These guys have been known to put up shark warning signs just to get people off the beach, so no not that area either.

Depending on how far you want to walk, Alysse's favourite spot was quite the trek to a beach right next to some cliffs. This area was popular in the morning with dog walkers and joggers but after ten in the morning, hardly anyone came this far down, but for Alysse it was worth it to get some peace and quiet and to be by herself.

She laid her towel out, lathered up the sunscreen, and then ran straight into the water. Then she ran right back out because this water was always cold. Why do you think the surfers were always wearing wet suits even during the summer. It wasn't sunny Southern California, this was Northern California where typically inland would get hot but the ocean breeze would keep the coast cold, and let's not even get started about the weather in San Francisco.

Alysse quickly ran to her towel and laid down on it, allowing the sun to both heat her up and dry her off, and once she felt comfortable she opened her book and began to read at the first page. She would always try to finish one book while on her day off, but usually she would fall asleep. Then slowly during the week she would finish the book either on her breaks or before she headed to work.

Today was no different. The distant call of a gull, the tranquil roaring of the ocean waves breaking on the sand, fall off sounds of children playing and surfers cheering were more than enough to put someone asleep and soon Alysse allowed her eyes to close and she drifted off to sleep.

"I'm up!" she cried, sitting up abruptly as someone ran past her spraying her with some sand and waking her from her slumber. She looked around her and noticed that the sun had just gone down and she was still laying on the beach. She looked at the person who kicked the sand up and could only see platinum blonde hair and long, black coat trailing behind him.

"Oi!" she shouted wanting to teach someone a lesson about kicking sand up on people. She chased after him but soon lost him among the rocks. Knowing he could have only gone forward she followed her assumption and soon found herself at the entrance of a cave. "He must be in here," she said and with one quick look behind her, she walked carefully into the cave.

The floor was very uneven, which wasn't unexpected for a cave, and soon one of her flip-flops got caught in a crack and she fell forward. It must have been an area that sloped because she kept rolling until finally she came to a stop as her legs wrapped on something. She peaked one eye open and noticed that she was hanging upside down. Feeling by her knees, Alysse found a metal pole that her knees were bent over holding her up and upside down. She grabbed it and swung off, landing with a 'thud' on the floor below. A light shone to her left from an opening and she heard a noise come from that area.

"I am going to get that person," she mumbled in what she thought was a threatening tone before crawling out of the hole and down the ladder. She was taken away by the sights before her, things not commonly found in an Oceanside cave. There was a stone fountain in the middle and a fallen chandelier, portraits and a bed, some chairs and various other things that made no sense. The light was being emitted from several metal trash cans that had fires inside.

"Do homeless people live here?" she asked herself as she walked passed a trash can. She heard the noise again, like a curtain fluttering almost, and she saw a shadow quickly dart away.

"Wait!" she shouted charging after it only to find a dead end, "great. And how do I get out of here?" she asked as she sat down on a rock. Her stomach then rumbled and she sighed putting a hand on it. "I'm thirsty, and hungry, and tired, and really wanted to yell at that person for covering me in sand."

Alysse was in quite a peculiar conundrum. She couldn't leave the way she came in since she had fallen most of the way in, so honestly her only chance was to find the sand kicking guy and getting him to tell her how to get out. Maybe he was one of the homeless people who lived in this cave.

She let her eyes wander around looking for anything when she saw a glass bottle resting on the stone fountain. It was covered in jewels and stamped metal and had a curious red liquid inside. She got up and walked over to see a note attached to it, and from the looks of it, a very quickly written note at that.

"Was that the noise I heard? Someone writing this note?" she asked before picking the bottle up and taking a sniff of the liquid. She removed the bottle from under her nose quickly. "Smells strange," she said taking a look at the liquid. "Should I trust the note that says 'drink this' or should I just let it be and try to find a way out?"

Her stomach answered her with another grumble. She groaned and against her better judgment took a sip of the liquid. As soon as the liquid was down her throat she put the bottle down and stepped away.

"Smells strange and tastes strange. It wasn't marked poison, but could it be that?" she wondered allowed before feeling a little light headed. Needing to sit down she sunk to the floor and rested there. "Great now I'm sick and stuck in a hobo cave." She grabbed her stomach as it grumbled again, clearly disagreeing with the liquid, before she laid down on the floor and that is when she saw a box that looked very familiar.

"This is from my bakery," Alysse said pulling it towards her. She wasn't happy about it but her bakery was fairly expensive, no homeless person could afford it. Opening the lid she saw three cupcakes from yesterday morning's display and she couldn't help but reach in and take one.

"I'll make them another one, I just need something to eat," she said before taking a bite. Once the cupcake was gone, her stomach had settled and she no longer felt light headed, apparently all she needed was some food in her system.

"Okay," she said standing up and wiping her hands on her shorts, "now to find a way out."

Deciding to listen to the waves, Alysse headed towards the sound and was delighted to find that the roar was getting louder. She nearly jumped for joy when she came to the cave's entrance and walked out, but instead of jumping, her flip-flop got stuck again and she fell down into the tide.

"Great," said Alysse once she broke the surface and spat out the salty water, "this has been a most unusual day off." She said before swimming to the nearby beach and getting out. Sadly, that is when she noticed that she was on the other side of the cliffs than her things were on. She groaned and started the hike to the other side of the cliffs.

She was walking down the beach to get to the flat land above the cliff when she saw the flash of platinum blonde hair and long coat.

"Hey!" she shouted and began to chase after him. She was running so fast, holding her flip-flops in one hand, that she didn't have time to stop before she crashed into the guy who now stood firmly before her.

"Yes?" he asked gruffly. Alysse straightened herself up before glaring up at him.

"Did you not hear me chasing you all evening?" she asked.

"That was you, was it? Sorry about that, but I've been late for something, in fact I'm still late," he said, not seeming sorry at all.

"Then let me make this fast-" she started but before she could even finish he had turned around and run off again. Alysse blinked at the sudden interruption and he had completely vanished from sight.

"GAH!" she shouted and threw her flip-flops in the direction the guy had disappeared. In a huff, she fetched her sandals and continued her trek to the other side of the cliff.

She had reached about the half way point, just at the top of the cliff where there was an old, twisted tree. Climbing a hill in the sand in flip-flops was very tiring so Alysse decided to take a break. Sitting below the tree and resting against the truck she took in a deep breath and held her head, it was pounding a bit but she figured it was just a bit of dehydration and fatigue.

"You look tired," came a voice above her that made her jump out of her skin. She looked up and saw a guy laying on one of the branches and looking down at her. How could she not have seen him when she sat down? And how did he get all the way up there? And why was he grinning at her like that? It was very Cheshire cat like to the point of being creepy.

"Well I am," she said trying to keep her cool and rubbing her forehead a bit.

"Climbing that hill looked very tiring, why did you do it?" he asked shifting his position a bit so he was facing her.

"Because I'm trying to get to the other side of the cliff," she said looking back up at him.

"Why do you want to go there?"

"Is this twenty questions?" she asked now looking at her feet and brushing some of the sand off.

"Maybe," he replied now dangling upside down right in front of her, making her jump once again when she turned to look at him.

"If you must know, I am trying to get to the beach over there to collect my things so I can go home."

"I see," he said bringing a hand up and biting at his thumbnail before removing it, "well I wouldn't go that way."

"Why?" she asked leaning back into the tree so she wasn't quite so close to this strange guy. She couldn't help but look at his patchwork coat and feel a bit of familiarity to him.

"Not safe. You could die," he said followed by an even wider grin, if possible.

"Then would you know a safe way?" she asked. He looked at her for a while before swinging down and landing right in front of her.

"I do," he said grinning at her and fixing his jacket, yet his white undershirt remained bunched up at his mid-torso.

"Would you show me, or at least tell me?"

Without a word he held his hand out to her and she put her flip-flops back on before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up. Once she was upright and steady on her feet, he turned and began to briskly walk away from the edge of the cliff. Because he still had a grasp on her hand she had no choice but to follow, or as it more was, to be briskly pulled along.

…

**A/n:** Now I would like everyone, while you read this to remember all that you can about Alice In Wonderland because I pretty much just Frankentstien-ed that story with the Lost Boys' story.

Thank you reading.

-Charlotte


	3. All Mad Here

Chapter Two- 'All Mad Here'

"Wait," the Cheshire guy said while stopping abruptly causing Alysse to stop quickly and try not to run into his back, which made her come face to face with an almost naked woman patched on the back of his jacket.

"What?" she asked taking a step back.

"What was that noise?"

"What noise?"

"A very faint rumble."

"Oh," Alysse paused, "that was me."

All of a sudden he twirled her around with the help of their still joined hands, before he let go and grabbed her shoulders once she was facing him. She just stared wide eyed at him because no one had ever done that to her before.

"You're hungry! Come with me I know where we can get some food. These guys are always feeding in one way or another," he said before grabbing her hand and heading off once again.

"Hey, um, what is your name anyway?" she asked as she came into the small forest like area that lined this part of the beach.

"What have you been calling me in your mind?" he asked back tossing a grin at her.

"Cheshire guy," she said, "which is lame which is why I want to know your name."

"Drop the 'guy' and stick with 'Cheshire', works for me," he responded, "but what should I call you? Tired girl is getting tiring in my head."

"I'm Alysse," she said.

"Nice to meet you," he said. They fell silent for a while till they came to another beach, a more private one that had a roaring bon fire going on in the middle of it. Leaning against some driftwood were three figures with what looked like Chinese take out boxes surrounding them. Cheshire finally dropped Alysse's hand and headed out towards the figures while Alysse cautiously followed behind.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Where have you been?" asked the blonde one who appeared to be a little higher than life right now. Alysse noticed that one of the figures was a small boy who was curled up and sound asleep at the end of the driftwood.

"Around, did you leave any food for me?" responded Cheshire who sat down and looked into the take out cartons and tossing aside the empty ones.

"Should be some around here somewhere," muttered the blonde. Alysse was now just standing there awkwardly watching them when she managed to catch eyes with the last figure on the beach who had dark hair.

"Hey," said the dark haired guy pointing towards Alysse and looking at the other two, "who is this?"

"Oh, right, sorry, this is Alysse, found her wandering around," introduced Chesire getting up and walking over to her.

"Alysse, huh?" asked the blonde who came a little closer.

"Yes, er nice to meet you," she said. The blonde then stood up and walked over to her and grabbed her hand before placing a kiss on the back of it.

"Nice to meet you," he said taking a deep breath, almost as if he was smelling her.

"He's kind of mad so stay away from him," said Cheshire who pulled her hand away.

"Mad as a hatter," replied the blonde who then laughed and jumped away before plopping himself into the sand right next to the sleeping mousy looking boy.

"Well, then nice to meet you Hatter," she said while Cheshire sat down and Alysse decided to sit next to him.

"That little boy is always sleeping so don't worry about him," said Chesire reaching for another Chinese carton and finding some rice inside. He smiled and held onto it while looking for an eating utensil.

"What month is it?" asked the dark haired one looking up from a book he was reading.

"July," replied Alysse finding some chopsticks and handing them to Cheshire who grinned back and happily dug into the food before offering some to her.

"Ah, I missed March," he said before going back to his book.

"What it so special about March?" asked Alysse after she took a bite of the offered rice.

"That's when he gets his hair done," said Hatter before laughing which earned him a hit in the head with an empty Chinese take out carton.

"That is when my birthday is," replied March Hair. Alysse was doubtful that she would actually learn their real names so nick names would have to do for now. The little boy shall be Boremouse since, well he really was quite a bore just laying there sleeping.

"Wait, so does that mean that today is your unbirthday?" asked the Hatter sitting up all of a sudden. Cheshire paused his eating and turned to look at March Hair as well.

"Yes," said March Hair and Hatter jumped into the air with a shout of joy.

"It's my unbirthday too!" he shouted jumping around now.

"Mine too guys!" shouted Cheshire jumping up as well, still grasping the rice box. Then the air went silent and all three eyes landed on Alysse who was watching them not sure if she should be amused or frightened.

"Alysse," said Cheshire as they moved to stand before her.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what today is?" asked March Hair.

"My unbirthday?" she tried. There was a pause before Hatter reached down and picked her up in a hug.

"By George she's got it!" he shouted before placing her back on her feet and proceeding to run around the bon fire.

"Is it all our unbirthday's then?" she asked looking around.

"That it is, even sleepy boy's unbirthday, thought he hardly joins in on the fun," said March Hair who sat back down again and opened his book.

Cheshire sat down and went back to eating the rice only taking a break to pull Alysse back down to sit next to him. A while latter, Hatter finally decided to come down from his high and fell to the ground before the three of them, laying on his back and staring up at the sky.

Cheshire handed the rice box to Alysse along with the chopsticks and she couldn't wait to finish off the rice only to discover that it was already all gone. She groaned as she placed the empty box in the sand next to some of the others.

"Twinkle, twinkle little bat, how I wonder what you're at. Up above the world you fly…like a tea tray in the sky! Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle-" said Hatter who just stared up at the sky.

"I think he is broken," said Alysse poking Cheshire to get his attention.

"No he has about thirty-seven more twinkles to go," said March Hair looking up from his book to glance at Hatter. And so he continued on before he eventually died out and they were all silent again. Alysse was about to mention to Cheshire that he was showing her the way to the beach that had her stuff on it when Hatter jumped up and reached into the pocket of his jacket and held a devilish smile on his face.

"Epiphany," said March Hair looking at Hatter who finally found what he was looking for and pulled out some sparklers and a few small fireworks.

"Took these off of a surfer, earlier," he said while looking into the fire. Alysse was confused by the look all three seemed to be giving the fire but soon they came back to reality by jumping up and grabbing the fireworks from Hatter's hand and immediately pulled out lighters and sparks started flying. This even seemed to wake Boremouse because he soon joined them as well.

Alysse sat there for a while watching and came to the realization that Cheshire wasn't going to be showing her to her beach anytime soon. It was late, she was still hungry and tired and really just wanted to go home so while the boys were preoccupied she slipped away back among the trees and back to where she hoped her beach was located.

She had been walking through the forest for a really long time, longer than she recalled walking before which made her pause and wonder if she was heading towards her beach or away. She tried to see if she could find the north star, but she honestly had no clue where to look in the sky for it and was pretty sure the star she thought that it was, was probably a planet.

Sighing she continued walking and was shocked by what she saw up ahead of her, it was the Boardwalk lights! Alysse jumped for joy at finding something she recognized but then realized exactly how far away she was from her beach and her things. Getting upset again she decided to at least go and see if she could get something to eat from her sister, assuming she was still working.

Walking up the steps from the beach to the Boardwalk, she couldn't help but notice that it was a lot more crowded than it ever had been before. It was strange and as she walked to the funnel cakes she found herself constantly going against the crowd. That was when she saw a familiar platinum blonde head of hair and trailing leather coat. He seemed to have no problem going against the crowd so she tried to at least get behind him but it seemed that the faster the walked the farther away he got until she lost him all together.

Heading to the side railing she sat down on it and took a deep, calming breath before she felt eyes on the side of her head. Slowly she turned to look to her left and saw a young woman with wild bushy hair and a long skirt with hearts beaded onto it staring at her with a rather peculiar expression. It looked almost as if she was annoyed that Alysse had sat on the rail next to her, yet she also looked frightened and sympathetic all at once.

"Er…hi?" tried Alysse which earned her a new facial expression of anger and narrowed eyes.

"What have you done?" said the master of mixed emotions in an almost shrill voice.

"Beg your pardon?" asked Alysse still just confused; she was feeling that a lot tonight. All of sudden the girl was in her face and staring Alysse down. When did she even move?

"Why did you do it? You don't know what you have done!" she said.

"That would be correct, I don't know what I have done," said Alysse not sure if this conversation was actually taking place. All of sudden, someone cleared their throat next to them and both females turned to stare at the platinum blonde head of hair and his amused smirk.

"Might I have a word," he said looking at the other girl. She walked over to him and they argued a bit before coming back over to Alysse.

"Just go join the other guys, I will be there soon," ordered the girl who Alysse decided to declare the Queen of Hearts after that comment. The guy nodded to her and glanced at Alysse before walking off.

"Just stay away and everything will be okay," said the Queen of Hearts turning to Alysse.

"Stay away from who? Look I don't know what you are talking about I am just trying to get home," said Alysse jumping down from the railing and taking a step back. The Queen of Hearts just looked at her with warning eyes before heading away from Alysse and into the crowd.

"That was weird," muttered Alysse who was trying to grasp what was happening that night. She sighed before turning around and about to walk towards the funnel cake stand once more when she ran right into two figures. She looked up and immediately recognized the Frog Brothers standing before with crossed arms and expressionless faces.

"Oh boy, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," she said under her breath before they each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her through the crowds and to their shop.

…

**A/n:** I hope you area all enjoying this so far. I tried to keep it clear about which Lost Boys character is representing which Alice In Wonderland character but if you get confused I am sorry, feel free to ask any questions.

Thank you for reading.

-Charlotte


	4. DEE and DUM

Chapter Three- 'DEE and DUM'

Alysse was forcefully sat in a chair in the back office of the Frog's comic book store. She looked up at the two figures towering before her. This evening just kept getting weirder and weirder.

"What have you been up to this evening?" asked Dee, or Alan as was his birth name.

"Surprisingly a lot. Currently, I am just trying to get to my things then go home and sleep. Tonight is my night off and I actually want to get some sleep," she said not ready to deal with these guys.

"We saw who you were talking to," said Dum; birth name Edgar.

"Yes, many people did because it is quite crowded this evening. Do you know why that is anyway?" she asked leaning forward but the both pushed her back into the chair and she just stared at them as they leaned down to get to her height.

"How about we tell you a story," stated Dee who turned to his brother and they nodded to each other.

"If you insist," replied Alysse and they both took a step back and took comfortable stances before Dum began.

"The sun was shining-"

"Do you think you can tell me the short version?" asked Alysse. They both just stared at her before Dum continued on as if he wasn't interrupted.

"The sun was shining on the sea.

Shining with all his might:

He did his very best to make

The world hot and light-

But it has ended, for it was

The middle of the night.

The sea was wet as wet could be,

The sands were dry as dry.

You could not see a cloud, because

No cloud was in the sky:

No birds were flying overhead-

Something else was up so high.

The vampires and the Halflings

Flew down to land.

They craved like anything to eat

Such quantities of man:

'If they would come to us instead,'

They said, "it would be grand!'

'O Humans come and walk with us!'

The vampires did beseech.

'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,

Along the briny beach:

We may appear as only four,

But we give a hand to each.'

The group of humans gathered up,

All eager for the treat:

Their hair was coloured, their faces painted,

Their shoes were boots and beat-

And they were high, because, you know,

Drugs were the current meat.

The vampires and the Halflings

Walked on a mile or so,

And then they rested on a rock

Conveniently low:

And all the humans began to party

Completely unaware, you know.

'The time has come,' the vampires said,

'To feast on many things:

On flesh- and blood- and human hearts-

On jugulars- and dreams.

And why their blood is boiling hot,

And Halflings you gave wings.'

'Wait, what the hell?' the humans cried,

'We didn't know you wanted that;

For some of us…have bad blood,

And…um…all of us are fat!'

'It's fine!' said the vampires.

They swooped in like a bat.

'A loaf of bread,' the vampires joked,

'Is what we chiefly need:

Pepper and vinegar besides

Are very good indeed-

Now, if you're ready, my brothers,

We can begin the feed.'

"No! Not on us!' the humans cried,

Turning a shade of pale blue.

'We beg of you, please let us be

Come on, man…dude!'

'The night is fine,' the vampires said,

'and we quite like the view.'

'It seemed too easy,' the vampires said,

'To play them such a trick.

After we've brought them out so far,

And made them talk a bit.'

The Halflings said nothing but

'Their blood is laid on so thick.'

'O humans,' said the vampires,

'You've had a pleasant run!

Now tell me that wasn't a ball.'

But answer came there none-

And this was scarcely odd, because

They'd eaten every one."

There was a long pause and Alysse just stared at them like they had lobsters crawling out of their ears.

"Finished?" she asked. They looked at each other before looking back at her.

"Good," she said before standing up and leaving the shop. Sadly the two decided to follow here even out on the now deserted Boardwalk. Alysse looked around confused at the lack of people but continued to march on.

"Beware the night crawlers!" said Dee.

"Don't get caught alone," said Dum.

"Get yourself some holy water," said Dee.

"And lost of garlic," said Dum. Finally having enough Alysse turned around to face them and they both stopped and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Tweeldedum and Tweedledee

Agreed to have a battle;

For Tweedledum said Tweedledee

Had spoiled his nice new rattle.

Just then flew down a monstrous crow.

As black as a tar-barrel;

Which frightened both the heroes so

They quite forgot their quarrel." As Alysse finished someone had landed right behind her with a loud thud as boots hit wood. The brothers took one look at the figure and went wide eyed with fear.

"Vampire!" they shouted before turning around and running back to the cover of their comic book shop.

Alysse then carefully turned around and came face to face with Mr. Platinum Blonde Guy once again.

"Hello?" she asked not sure why he kept popping up. Sure she wanted to yell at him earlier, but now she kind of just wanted him to go away.

"Come with me," he said before he grabbed her arm and started walking down the Boardwalk. The came to the carousel and they jumped aboard the moving ride and once they stepped on all the lights on the Boardwalk went down and the only light was coming from the ride they were currently on.

"Take a seat," said Mr. Blonde Guy and Alysse sat down on a black horse that had flowers all over it as decoration. He walked over and stood next to a white horse and there sitting on it facing her was the Queen of Hearts.

…

**A/n:** I love the poems in Alice in Wonderland and have many of them memorized so I decided to pay homage to them with this chapter. I had a fun time rewriting The Walrus and Carpenter to give it the Lost Boys twist, but I did leave some verses out.

Thank you for reading.

-Charlotte


	5. The Trial

Chapter Four- 'The Trial'

Mr. Blonde Guy cleared his throat and looked between the tw females before looking straight ahead of him.

"The Queen of Hearts, bought cupcakes,

All on a summer's night.

Then some tart, ate cupcakes,

And fled the scene in fright."

"What?" asked Alysse turning to look at him, "that is not what happened at all. I wasn't scared, I was chasing you because I wanted to yell-"

"Silence," said the Queen. Alysse glared at her but closed her mouth.

"How do you plead?" asked Mr. Blonde Guy smirking towards Alysse.

"Innocent," said Alysse glaring.

"Call the first witness," said the Queen.

"Calling the first witness," said Mr. Blonde Guy. There was a pause as the carousel did one complete round before Alysse jumped as a loud shout came from the horse next to her. There was the Hatter yelling with joy and behind him was the March Hair and on his back was a sleeping BoreMouse.

"Faster, faster!" shouted Hatter.

"Stop that," said the Queen of Hearts.

"Girl, chill," responded Hatter before looking towards March Hair and rolling his eyes.

"Do you know this girl?" asked Mr Blonde Guy pointing towards Alysse. Hatter looked at her before getting off his horse and walking over to her. He circled the horse she was on, sniffed her hair, before turning to face March Hair.

"I'm hungry," he declared.

"Do you know her?"

"Don't know. Where is the nearest taco place, I've got a case of the munchies," said Hatter before walking over to March Hair and leaning on his horse.

"She did it!" suddenly shouted the boy jumping up and pointing at Alysse. Everyone jumped and from his outburst BoreMouse almost fell off of the horse and March Hair's back. Everyone's attention was on him while Alysse looked up in a desperate plea to a deity she didn't believe in to do something. That's when she saw Cheshire there laying on the carousel's supports. He grinned and gave her a little wave.

"What is going on?" she asked him with a whisper.

"A trial, of course," he said.

"I get that, but for what, and why, can't you just show me to the beach like you said you would so I can collect my things to go home?" she asked.

"Well, did you take a cupcake?"

"Yes I did, but it was because-" she started but was cut off by a clearing of a throat. She turned and saw that everyone else was now looking at her, arms all crossed and none of them were sitting on horses except for her.

"Who are you talking to?" asked the Queen.

"Um…Cheshire," she said pointing up. They all looked up and saw no one there.

"So you admit you took a cupcake?" asked Mr Blonde Guy.

"Yes, because my stomach was disagreeing with me and really needed some food in it. It is okay because I work at the bakery where you got those, just come in, ask for me and I can get youa whole box on the house."

"Did you drink something?" asked Hatter.

"What? Oh, yeah, someone wrote me a note to drink something from this bottle," she explained.

"How do you know the note was for you?" asked the Queen of Hearts who was now just staring at her with wide eyes.

"I heard someone write it, and it was written in a very hasty manner," she said not sure what these people were getting at.

"How do you know Boremouse didn't write it?" asked March Hair.

"He doesn't have the best handwriting," said Mr Blonde Guy.

"Do you often go around drinking out a strange bottles?" asked Hatter.

"What if is poison?" asked March Hair.

"Or worse," muttered Boremouse in his sleep. They were slowly getting closer to her.

"It is too late," said a voice in her ear. She turned and saw Cheshire right next to her, but he then moved to stand with the other before her.

"Look!" shouted Alysse standing up her horse so she was towering over everyone else, "I was just trying to teach you some manners when I fell ill. And I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, I'll make amends for eating your cupcake but it doesn't deserve this attack. Now I am going to go back to my beach collect my things and go home, and none of you shall follow me, or interact with me from here on out. You are all very strange and seriously need some help in how to deal with others. Good day," she said and got off the horse and walked out onto the Boardwalk where the sun was just coming up. She heard and flutter of fabric and a chorus of laughter as she was blinded by the sun. The laughter soon died down and the only thing that remained was someone calling her name.

Alysse blinked before fully opening her eyes to be greeted by the sight of her sister leaning over her. She sat up and looked around her to see she was on her beach, the sun was just setting, and her skin burned.

"Finally, I was wondering where you were. And what did I tell you about falling asleep on the beach, now you're all burned. Did you even use sunscreen?" babbled Loren. Alysse just slowly got up off the towel and her sister started folding it up as Alysse collected her book and sandals in one hand.

"I had the strangest dream," said Alysse holding her head and looking at her sister as they started to head back.

"Well that dream kept you entered long enough for the sun to make you extra crispy. I have work so you're going to have put the aloe on yourself but I will help you when I get home. I will also inform your bosses and see if you can get some time off, not sure what to do when your skin starts peeling-" Loren continued on. Alysse, having grown up with her, was able to tune her out as she turned and looked towards the cave as the sun finally dipped all the way below the horizon.

She heard motorcycles then revving from that direction as she turned to face the way they were going. Once back at the Boardwalk Loren helped Alysse up the steps and that is when she looked over to the railings and that is when she saw them. Mr Blond Guy was watching the Queen of Hearts as she talked to Boremouse, Hatter and March Hair were sharing some fries, and staring right at her, a large grin planted on his face, was Cheshire, or whoever they really were.

"Put your shoes on now Alysse," said Loren. She quickly did as they stopped by the group of dream invaders. They all turned to look at the sisters.

"Hey girl, want to do a lobster quadrille with me?" said the one with long blonde hair once known as Hatter.

"Yes, ha ha, I have a sunburn," she commented before following after her sister into the crowds.

She could still feel all of their eyes on her back as she walked away, but a dream is a dream, it isn't real, she doesn't know them, because really in her dream she didn't.

David tossed his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with his boot, a smirk on his face as they watched the girl walk away. She would be back, they always were.

"Let's go boys," he said.

Alysse still couldn't help to glance back at the somewhat strangers only to see they were no longer there. She heard the motorcycles off in the distance and soon it was taken over by the sound of the Boardwalk.

"Curious," muttered Alysse before catching up to her sister.

The end.

…

**A/n:** Got a little bit of writer's block there at the end and how exactly I wanted to conclude this story but I had some inspiration yesterday. I spent the entire day at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and last night got to watch The Lost Boys on the beach, it was probably one of the coolest things ever. Usually when I go to Santa Cruz it is to go sailing, my mum's a captain, so this was different since I had only been to the Boardwalk three times before.

There will be a sequel called "Through the Looking Glass" but it will be more Lost Boys centric with mentions of Alice in Wonderland as opposed to this story. So keep an eye out for that, hopefully out soon.

Thank you all for reading.

-Charlotte


End file.
